


Mind Over Matter

by Clementine_115



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: M/M, bless changkyun's family, everything is platonic, sort of hyungwon centric, the start of beautiful friendship, there isn't any proper relationship in this, this was set pre All In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-10
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-08-30 04:58:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8519353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clementine_115/pseuds/Clementine_115
Summary: If there is love at first sight, then there sure is hate at first as well. If looks can kill, one person, or two, might be long gone. If eyes could speak, none of it would have happened.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is by all means a work of fiction. I don't mean to hurt the boys. I really do love them.

At first glance it may have looked like Kihyun and Hyungwon are close friends, since they constantly have a relay of insults in every opportunity they can find. It's a bit impossible to have done so if both actually hate each other while living under the same roof and forever being recorded by the camera. People will catch on the tension. However, even though their endless banter were just merely for fun, it wasn't as friendly as it is now. It definitely did not start off with a good nature.

The thing is, despite knowing that it was never acceptable to judge a book by its cover, Hyungwon can't help but to do so whenever he met new people. He knows it's bad but how else was he going to know how he should behave towards an individual of whom he just met if it's not base on his first impression of said person. It was made known that his first encounter with Jooheon wasn't exactly a walk in the park but his assumptions were washed away once he had proper conversation with the rapper during lunchtime. His thoughts about Kihyun however, hovered his mind for ages.

When he first met the tiny man, he thought maybe he couldn't be as bad as the rapper, considering his features and all. Hell was he far off from his judgment. For a relatively small man, Kihyun sure does have an abundance of confidence stored inside his petite body. He greeted Hyungwon with his head held up high and raising his chin to the sky, not even bothered to give a proper hello. And what pissed the other off even more was that Kihyun would be battling for the same role as he was, a vocalist. It wasn't helping when his rival was infinitely better than he was at singing. Sure he was tons better at dancing but then there's Hyunwoo and Hoseok whose work had been acknowledged by practically everyone. He knows it's not fair for him to mark Kihyun as his enemy, but when you're in a situation where your whole career, your whole life is at stake, you can't help having this ugly feelings. Said man's arrival had definitely stirred up his emotions and unknowingly became the cause of his stress and anxiety.

Sensing such apparent bad vibe from Hyungwon, Kihyun never really cared to make an effort to know about the tall man. _If he doesn't like me, why should I be the one who initiate anything,_ he thought. They would carefully and thoroughly planned out their days with the aim to not clash with each other. In spite of this, when one of those moments where things just don't go as planned, they would avoid making eye contact at all cost. Both parties knew how ridiculous their behaviour was towards each other. Even the others noticed this but no one really said anything because it's none of their business, and it's not even certain that they will be put in the same group together. Hence, it gave them all the more reasons to ignore each other completely and make little to no effort to even at least pretend to be on good terms.

Also, unlike Hyungwon, Kihyun knows he has it all when it comes to singing. He knows he has the voice, the talent, the skills that the company had been searching for to make as the main vocalist. He has been singing at his church as soon as he is able to remember, which was around 4 years old and he is now nearing his twenties. Obviously he had every reason to feel absolutely confident in his singing ability. Although he is aware that he is lacking in the visual aspect, and dancing, he knows he had the chance to debut regardless of his shortcomings, because in the end it's the voice that portrays the songs. If he's not going to debut in a group, he still has the opportunity to debut as soloist, and that's all the better for him since the focus would all be on only him and his voice.

Despite being almost absolutely confident in himself, Kihyun does have certain insecurities. He is only a human after all. Hence it's impossible to blessed and be perfect in everything. Even though he feels like he is well above Hyungwon, the envious feeling he had for the taller man over his model-like features is just as deep as Hyungwon's desire to be able to sing like Kihyun. But of course he would never tell any living souls regarding this matter. His pride and ego has gotten over him well enough to make him forget about his little imperfections.

As years flew by, their mutual hatred towards each other was still running strong. Even when they were being filmed for the survival show, they didn't bother to cover their feelings. Heck even after their debut, where they were miraculously put under one group, they never really have the intention to mend whatever that they were supposed to be fixing. This is mainly because they themselves aren't quite sure exactly how to fix the situation because they don't know what it is that is supposed to be fixed in the first place. Well, that would be a blunt lie but everything is just so vague and things just happened.

Whenever they are alone, both would side eyed each other, careful enough not to make any form of contact, rolling their eyes, and purposely sigh loud enough to make the other knows of their own frustration. Sometimes when they are in a distance where it's close enough for their voices to be heard by them and them only, they would throw hateful words, whispered ever so softly yet loud enough for it to be heard. If they feel like words aren't good enough, they would physically pissed each other off by shoving each other's shoulder, stepping on one's foot and other equivalently stupid acts.

Their relationship was even worse compared to the time when Changkyun was introduced as the potential rapper of the group. While the feelings they had towards Changkyun was initially out of rage and sadness, none of it really stayed permanently. They knew it wasn't right to put all the burden on the youngest; he probably didn't know any better and most likely didn't or could not have much say about it at all. If they were in his shoes, they would have done the same, more or less.

Kihyun and Hyungwon's feelings towards each other are not as straightforward as that. It's because one respectively knows he has the upper hand no matter what, while the other feels like he is walking dangerously on an extremely thin line and would trip over at any second.

All this while, they had managed to keep things as reasonable as possible. They know very well there is a limit for everything, and they know not to cross the border. However as thoughts and feelings kept piling up and formed numerous mountains, it is only expected for one to explode, whether or not they meant what they said.

"Oh my god! Would you stop stepping on my foot already? I don't know what the fuck is your problem but I sure do know I would have one less problem if you were to fucking kill yourself and be gone forever."

Kihyun yelled abruptly in the middle of their practice. Not minding the stares at all. He's far too annoyed to think rationally. Deep down he knows it's wrong but god, he's just so fucking mad right now.

Hoseok, who's not having of it, stood in-between the two. "Kihyun, you better apologise and take back what you said." The elder said in a stern voice, making sure that this is an order and not something to be dismissed. Kihyun however was far ahead and was completely losing his shit.

"No, he deserved it. I've had enough of your shit Chae Hyungwon."

"You started first, bitch! You said I was useless and had no function in the group. That I was only here because of my looks. That had my parents not been blessed with good genes, I would be the ugliest person in the world. Well shit man, yes I am forever grateful for it was the opposite, but unlike you, I also knew better to not dragged anyone's parents, your parents in this."

Hyungwon stormed off and banged the door with much force on his way out.

Outside, his voice could clearly be heard still.

"Fuck you, fucking Yoo Kihyun!"

Everyone was too stunned, too speechless. The silence had never felt so dreadful.

"That was uncalled for. I never knew you would stoop that low."

Changkyun voice echoed as he left to find Hyungwon.

Hyunwoo decided to call it a day and head straight home. The others followed him, leaving Kihyun alone in the practice room. All sorts of feeling swamped over them and now it's not the time for any of them to say anything. The four men entered their apartment with heavy heart and confused mind. It felt wrong to leave Kihyun all by himself, he too needs a shoulder to lean on and an ear to hear his side of the story, but everything was just too much.

They plopped themselves on the sofa, feeling uneasy about this whole situation. No one really knew what to do, so they stayed in silence, lost in their train of thoughts.

"Should I go and see Kihyun...?" Minhyuk blurted out, without realising he was thinking out loud.

"I don't know, honestly. If you're confident enough then go, but I'm still not over with what he said. I can't risk it, too afraid that I would make things worse" Hoseok explained as he buried his face in his hands, feeling so conflicted about what he should do.

"I hope Hyungwon didn't go far off" Jooheon who had been silent piped in.

"He'll be fine. He's bad with directions, he can't go far" Hyunwoo patted Jooheon's back, hoping that it would ease the boy. They all let out a little laugh at Hyunwoo's comment.

"You're right, even with the navigation on, he would still be just as clueless" Jooheon said remembering the time when Hyungwon decided to drove all the way to his hometown once he got his driver's license.

As the tension in the room slowly wavering away, Minhyuk felt like he's well enough to confront and comfort Kihyun. He got off the couch, slipped on his shoes, put on his coat, all set and ready to head out, back to the practice room. Hyunwoo saw him out and grabbed his wrist, reminding the younger soul to be extra careful with his words, not to hurt the already wounded man.

A few minutes after, he arrived at the location. He was still hesitating, pacing back and forth in front of the door. Decided that helping Kihyun was far more important than his doubts and what ifs, Minhyuk entered the practice room cautiously. Kihyun looked up, then immediately cowered back right after. Feeling too embarrassed about what had happened. Neither said anything. Minhyuk walked over to where his friend is, and placed himself next to the man. Before the silence got too worrying and uncomfortable, the smaller male spoke up.

"I messed up so fucking bad." He whispered in his jaded voice.

"You sure did."

"Thanks dude."

"I'm always here to keep you in check." Minhyuk reassured him, patting his knee. There was a pause before Kihyun sighed and voiced his worries.

"Found Hyungwon yet?"

"I don't know." _That was such a stupid thing to asked. Of course he doesn't know._ Kihyun mentally scolded himself.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm not the person that should be hearing this."

"I know."

"Well then, let's get you sorted out for some warm soup."

"You cooked?" Kihyun said raising an eyebrow.

"You wish. There's some left over soup that you made for us last night." Minhyuk informed ever so proudly with a smirk.

"I should have figured it that much, honestly."

Little laughter filling the air. _That wasn't so bad,_ Minhyuk thought.

Minhyuk stood up and dragged Kihyun home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do read The Book Thief if you haven't already. The film left so much of the good parts, leaving me so disappointed.

Changkyun who was out drenched in the acidic rain kept cursing. Even though he was already wearing a thick waterproof knee length coat, it was still not enough to protect him from the vicious cold and wet winter. His feet however were soaked to the bones. He had worn a canvas shoes out of the many damn days. To make matters worse, he had no idea how to locate Hyungwon since neither of them have any mobile phones. _As if this torturous weather wasn't bad enough,_ he sighed. He kept looking at every corner of the city, asking the owners of the shops they often went to if they've seen Hyungwon. None of which gave him the answer he was desperately wishing for.     
   
After what felt like ages of searching, walking endlessly for miles with no direction, he started to feel like his effort would all be worthless and that he was ready to give up. His guts however told him otherwise; he somehow knew Hyungwon couldn't be that far. It's very well established that the elder isn't the greatest when it comes to directions. Thinking of other possible places, he suddenly remembered that Hyungwon would always hide in the washroom in a situation like this. He should've checked the toilets in the company's building but he definitely saw Hyungwon walked out of the building. Maybe he's at the apartment's, but he went off the opposite direction. Public toilets? Toilets in the shops?     
   
"Where the fuck are you, hyung."    
   
He considered checking all the toilets in the area but the idea was too absurd. Already so exhausted from the practice, Changkyun decided to walk home. _At least I tried_ , he thought. Not long after he saw the massive public library on the opposite end of their apartment, indicating that he's only a few steps to home. As he passed it, he halted thinking of the possibilities that maybe Hyungwon could in fact be in there. Immediately, he ran towards the library and rushed through the revolving door with his hope held high. He was hushed by the librarian. He quickly bowed and whispered a sorry.     
   
"Please please please, let me find you."    
   
He flew through the stairs and went to all the toilets of the five storeyed building. To no avail, he still could not find him. He was sure that he had searched in every toilets there are in the building. _I'm not going to climb up the stairs_ _again._ He was having a dilemma: maybe he did miss one of the toilets, and maybe he could go for another round, but as of right now, he really cannot feel his legs. _I'm so sorry,_ _Hyungwon_ _hyung_ _._ His tired legs led him to the exit.  

On his way out, he saw a new area designated for toddlers. It was shaped like a crescent moon, with the middle being a common area filled with shelves packed with books, and little tables and chairs scattered elsewhere. The outer perimeter had 3 rooms, all for different purposes.  _I_ _haven't seen this place before._ Out of curiosity, he entered to the common area that was plastered with vibrant colours of the rainbow. The walls were covered with all sorts of beautiful and peculiar artwork. Normally the place would be packed with rowdy kids bouncing off the soundproof walls. ( _Soundproof walls. It makes perfect sense._ He thought.) But since it's already nearing 9 p.m., none was seen as tomorrow is Monday, meaning there's school to attend to. He walked around checking out the rooms in the area: there was a playroom full of board games, another room specifically for art and crafts, and the biggest room made for watching films. Then there were two doors next to it; one with a sticker of Tinker Bell on it and the other with Peter Pan. _Must have been the toddlers' washroom._ Not wasting anymore time, he dashed through the Peter Pan's door hoping, praying Hyungwon is in there. And his prayer was heard and answered as he heard soft sound of someone sobbing. There was one cubicle out of the five that was obviously occupied.    
   
"Hyungwon hyung, it's me Changkyun."  
   
Still, no answer.     
   
"Hyung, unlock the door please."    
   
Silence.  
   
"You don't have to say anything. Let's just go home, okay."    
   
Still no answer, but he could hear some ruffling.    
   
"Hyung, please..."    
   
He was about to climbed over using the other cubicle when he heard a soft click. The door was left ajar. He pushed the door slowly and he froze to the sight. Little trail of blood painted the floor. Hyungwon's shirt was covered with blood. Changkyun was trying to call for help but then remembered that what he had was an iPod not a phone. He thought of asking for help from the staff but that would create such a ruckus.     
   
He knelt down, checking for the pulse. It's there, stable but weak. He washed off the blood on the wrist with much care, minding the freshly wounded cuts. Hyungwon winced in pain. "Shh, it's okay." Changkyun kept repeating it, hoping it would soothe the other. He ripped off a piece of cloth from Hyungwon's sleeves with the knife, which was cut reasonably big enough to wrapped around the wound. Finished knotting the cloth neatly, he shifted the man, and propped him in the next cubicle to wash off the blood on the floor.     
   
He covered the man with his big coat, trying to stop him from shivering vigorously. Changkyun shortened the gap between them, and embraced Hyungwon to share the warmth from his body.  

 "Hyung...hyung it's okay." 

Changkyun tightened his grip, allowing Hyungwon to rest his head on the younger's chest. He patted the elder on the back, to calm him down, to comfort his shattered soul. Hyungwon had never cried in front of anyone in his many years of living. The most he had done was just getting teary in the eye, but that was it. Never allowed more than that to flow out of him, not when they're others around, that is. But right now, his poor heart just can't hold it back anymore. All those time when he was struggling he never told a soul about it; he was completely alone, drifting in the darkness every now and then. To have Changkyun by his side right now was more than he could have ever asked for. The taller man let his tears run down his cheeks like the waterfall. Changkyun's shirt was damped as Hyungwon's gush of tears soaked through it.  

"That's it. It's okay to cry. And please, don't mind my shirt." It made Hyungwon laughed in-between his crying. In all honesty, Changkyun just doesn't have the luxury to care about such petty things. He has a lot more crucial things to be concerned about. They stayed like that in silence for awhile. The only sound that was made was from Hyungwon's sobbing. Long after, Hyungwon murmured something. 

 "Hmm...what was that?"  

Changkyun loosened his grip, to get a good look of his friend. Hyungwon had his head down.    
   
"Changkyun I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."    
   
"Shh. Don't be. I am here. Don't worry."    
   
Hyungwon had stopped crying but there was still little droplets on his cheeks. Changkyun placed his fingers over the man's little face and wiped away his tears. He helped Hyungwon to get up.    
   
"Now, let me take you home."    
   
"But Kihyun..."    
   
"I meant home as in my home in Gwangju."   
   
"Changkyun, you can't do that." He tried with all his might to persuade the younger one to bring him back to their dorm, but the other was stubborn as a rock and had no means to listen to the elder.    
   
"We don't have any schedules for the damn month, don't worry." He reasoned with a little worry and doubt in his voice, almost unconvinced himself for a second.   
   
"Changkyun."    
   
"Hyung."    
   
Realising that he's not in a state to argue, Hyungwon decided to went ahead and followed Changkyun. With that, they left Seoul without noticing the members nor the company. They both knew shit will happen later but they pushed it aside.   

Changkyun had insisted Hyungwon to sleep in his room instead of the guest room, so that he can monitor him easily. He feared that Hyungwon might try doing harmful things if he's not insight. Hyungwon was seating on the bed, back leaning on the wall, waiting for Changkyun to finish showering. He had found a book on the desk, written  _ **The Book Thief**_ as the title and thought of giving it a read. Halfway through his reading, he heard a soft knock on the door. It was Changkyun's mother, bringing extra duvet with some pillows and checking in to see if the boys were doing alright. 

"Hey love, I brought these, just in case the cold had the better of you." 

Hyungwon put his book down and helped Mrs Lim with the duvet and pillows. He placed them on the bed. Mrs Lim sat on the edge of the bed, patting the space next to her, gesturing to the boy to the same. He followed suit. Mrs Lim didn't say anything for awhile, and Hyungwon was just as silent. He was fidgeting with the bandage, not knowing what to say. Mrs Lim saw this and placed her hand on his wrist. 

"Don't ever feel like you're any less than the rest of us. The fact that you're here shows how much of strength you have within yourself. Don't think otherwise." 

"If it weren't for Changkyun, I could or would have done worse." 

"But you stopped yourself from doing so didn't you", he was about to rebut but was cut off as Mrs Lim continued "Hyungwon, just remember that everyone was born for a reason. It doesn't matter if your existence is not significant to others; as long as you, yourself know why you're here, know what you have to do to be able to reach your goals, then that should be enough.Your life isn't about pleasing others till the point that you have to neglect your own well being. You're not brought to this world for that purpose." 

Hot tears started to swell up. He tilt his head back, fighting the urge to cry. Mrs Lim laughed at his effort.  

"Right, I forgot handsome man don't cry", she said jokingly. A little smile appeared on the boy's face.  

"That's it. You look better like that." 

"Thank you Aunt Mae." 

"It's alright, love. Take your time to love yourself. If anything, just remember that we've got your back." Mrs Lim gave him a motherly hug before going back to her room. 

"Good night, Hyungwon." 

"Good night, Aunt Mae."  

The little smile stayed through the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't think of a name for Changkyun's brother, and somehow decided with just Jonghyun. It has no relation with any Jonghyun though, just thought the name would fit the brother.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Changkyun said as he slide the curtains, allowing the little ray of sunshine scattered in the room, at an angle that hits directly on Hungwon's face. The latter refused to let it bother his precious sleep, pulling up his duvet to cover his body from head to toe and pretended not to be bothered by it. Seeing how the lanky man won't budge even for a bit, Changkyun decided to tickle the elder knowing very well that Hyungwon can't stand a second from being attack. He started his mission by tickling the feet. There was no response at first, but after awhile, the elder started kicking aimlessly, trying to get Changkyun's hands off his feet. Showing no signs of giving up, Changkyun continued and it worked. Out of desperation, Hyungwon got up and grabbed the younger by the hands, preventing himself from being tickled. "Tickle me one more time and you will not be seeing the daylight ever again," Hyungwon said in half joking manner. The younger scoffed at this remark. "A little gratitude wouldn't hurt, and please let of my hands. It's starting to hurt." Not realising that he was gripping on Changkyun's hands a little to tight, he loosened his grasp and let go of the boy's hands.  

"Go shower. We're going to see the doctor to check your wound after breakfast." 

Hyungwon got out of the bed, still half asleep, swaying his way to the bathroom. Remembering that he came here empty handed, no bags and such, it would mean that he has no new clothes to change into. He was given Changkyun's baggy t-shirt and shorts last night, but he's not sure he would fit his friend's daily attire. He turned around before heading for a shower to ask Changkyun about it, and it seems like Changkyun had already read his mind. He pointed at the neatly folded clothes on the bed, "It's my brother's. I'm sure it will fit." Hyungwon then disappeared into the bathroom to clean himself up.  

While waiting, Changkyun decided to give the manager a ring, to tell him about their whereabouts. After two rings, his manager picked up the call. Instead of an outburst of anger that he was readily anticipating for, what he heard was just a sigh. He was silent for a moment, confused by the unexpected reaction. "Changkyun, you have a shit ton of explanation to do when you get back but for now just briefly explain to me what's happening and your location." And so he did exactly that. He carefully told the manager roughly what had happened, leaving out the part regarding Hyungwon's injury. Thankfully, the manager is a man with empathy and just wished for them to stay safe and healthy. The manager did however remind him of the potential consequences that the duo might be facing, in which he replied "I got it covered hyung, stop worrying too much." 

The man on the other line sighed at the child's optimistic reaction.    

"Changkyun, I'm serious about this. I don't know what the boss is going to say or do...just be prepared."   

"Hyung, it's us that's in trouble not you. Hyungwon and I will figure this out."   

"I really hope so. Oh and, the rest said hello to the both of you, including Kihyun."   

"Said I said hello too, and Hyungwon hyung."   

"Okay."   

Seconds before they hanged up, he could hear Hyunwoo yelled "Stay safe kids".   

Smiling alone, he whispered back to the black screen "I will dad".  

As soon as he finished the phone call, Hyungwon came out from the shower. He was about to get dressed when he realised that Changkyun had given him a pyjamas bottom covered with faces of various types of cats. He gave Changkyun's a questionable look. 

"What? That's the best I could find." 

"I can't go out wearing this." 

"When I said we're going to see the doctor, I meant my brother. He's at home right now, having a week off." 

"Could have told me sooner." 

"What difference does it make anyway? You still have to wear it considering the lack of option." 

Hyungwon showed him the finger, and put on the trousers.  

"Yeah, yeah, very matured. Hurry up, I'm starving!" 

At the dining table, variety of food were laid out and the boys just can't wait to indulge the long waited home-cooked meals. They helped out by bringing out the plates and cutlery. Soon after, when everyone was at the table, they began to feast. "You guys looked like you haven't ate for centuries," said Changkyun's brother. "Make sure to chew and swallow your food properly, children," added Mrs Lim. The sight of them eating brought a smile on her face. It did make her wonder whether they have been eating properly or not, but she let it slide for now. While everyone was happily eating, Changkyun's brother saw the bandage on Hyungwon's left arm. He did not ask of what had happened, but instead offered a hand. 

"Would you like me to look at your wound, Hyungwon?"  

Hyungwon who was lost in thoughts, startled at the offer and stuttered in reply. He had forgotten about it and that he wasn't wearing a long sleeve shirt like he normally would. Changkyun came to the rescue.  

"If you don't mind, hyung. Save us a lot of money." 

"What makes you think the service would be free of charge?" 

"And I actually thought you would be the best brother in the world, Jonghyun hyung." Many eyes rolled at Changkyun's fake dramatic gasp. They continued devouring their meals with laughter and happy stomach. 

After the meal, all done with the washing and whatnot, the boys went to Changkyun's brother's room to get Hyungwon's wound examined. Hyungwon sat near the desk along with Changkyun's brother, and Changkyun made himself comfortable on his brother's bed, playing with his iPod. Jonghyun took out his own emergency kit, and laid out the equipment needed. He placed Hyungwon's arm on the desk, and started to unwrap the bandage to get a good look at the damage. It very much felt like he was at the clinic.  

"Hyung, do you always have the kit with you?"  

"Well, not always because they're days when I forgot to bring it along. But yeah, I would always try to remember to have it with me. Make it a habit, a second nature. A bit like how you would have a pen ready for an autograph, I suppose."  

Jonghyun clean the wound and put an ointment, which gave a little stinging feeling. Hyungwon clenched his hands into a fist, enduring the pain.  

"If only we're that famous." 

"Loosen up your fist, I need to make sure the bandage would be properly wrapped." 

"That's bullshit Hyungwon hyung. Of course we're famous. Didn't we signed like thousands copies of our album at the fan meeting and such." Changkyun giving his two cent on Hyungwon's statement, not looking up from the device. 

"That is true, but still." 

Jonghyun had finished attending Hyungwon. The latter looked at the nicely bandaged wrist, impressed by how delicate and detailed the doctor's work was.  

"He's so much better than you Changkyun," Hyungwon said as he plopped himself next to the youngest male. "It would be worrying if he's not" he replied as a matter of fact. His brother left the two alone, who were laying on his bed as if it's their own. Changkyun was too engrossed in the game to notice how bored Hyungwon was. He had been staring at the ceiling for who knows how long.  

"Dude, let's do something." Right after he said that, Mrs Lim was calling for them from living room downstairs. "Yes mum! We're coming!" They skipped down the stairs, to find the coffee table full of beautiful flowers. 

"What's this mum?" 

"Since you guys don't have much to do, why not help me arranging these flowers. I need to have it done by 8 p.m. and you have exactly 9 hours." Mrs Lim gave the boys a pair of scissors each. "Have a seat boys." They placed themselves around the coffee table, still clueless about their task.  

"But we're not exactly the right person to ask for help, Aunt Mae." 

"That's alright, I'll teach you." 

"You asked for it mum." They watched and listened tentatively to Mrs Lim as she showed them how to make a bouquet, and explained the choices of flowers. The voices of the people from the television became a white noise. Both have zoned out, and have their absolute focus on the flowers.  

Mrs Lim was about to take the opportunity to ask them why they're here, what had actually happened to them. However, she decided not to. She believes that only time will tell, and that it's better for them to come open when they are ready, rather than pressuring them into explaining the matter. She did however try to persuade Hyungwon to give his parents a visit or a call at least considering he's only several minutes away from them. Hyungwon strongly refused at her proposal, explaining that he doesn't want to worry his parents any further than they already are. Thankfully Mrs Lim understood his reasoning and didn't bother the poor soul. Instead, she is more than happy to offer any support needed. She even asked if Hyungwon wanted to seek help from a psychiatrist and that she'll gladly introduce him to one of her good friends. He hesitated at first but after considering all things, he decided to give it a go.  

"Would you like to make an appointment for tomorrow is that too early for you, dear?" 

"Tomorrow would be alright, Aunt Mae." 

"Tomorrow it is then."  

And that is how Hyungwon started to form a temporary routine during his short stay at Gwangju. He would have his wound checked after every breakfast, went to his appointment at 11 a.m., helped Mrs Lim to make the bouquets if any is needed, took his medicine in a timely manner and either write or read during the free hours. He also started to grow fond of arranging flowers. It kept him busy, having very little time to be drown in his melancholic thoughts. The scents from the roses and such somehow helped too. It made it easier for him to calm his nerves down. Of course the thoughts didn't stop coming completely, it's not that easy, he still have trouble sleeping, but having something to keep himself occupied definitely is better than nothing at all.  

During one of his visits at the hospital, he nearly bumped into his parents but managed to hide himself inside the washroom in an instant, vanishing from Changkyun and his parents' sight. Being the first child, he holds a great responsibility, he has to show a great example for his younger siblings, to be the person that they would be proud of to look up to. And as of now, Hyungwon was far from being such person. Meeting his parents in this state is definitely not an option. They already gave their all in making sure Hyungwon would be able to achieve his ambition, despite their protest at first. He can't repay them like this. Not now, not ever.      
   
Feeling too overwhelmed by his thoughts, his breathing started to become disoriented. His heart tightened and he feels like he can't breathe. He leaned forward towards the sink for support. The pain was too much. He dropped to the floor, leaning against the wall, bringing his knees closer to his chest.  

"Hyung, hyung, oh my god!"  

Changkyung burst through the door and hurried over towards the pale man.  

"I.....c...can't..."  

"Hyung, look at me. Follow me." Hyungwon could not hear him, all of his senses went numb. Realising this, Changkyung tilt the man's head so that their eyes are on the same level.  

He tried again.  

"Hyung, slowly. Breathe in, breathe out. Slowly." He held Hyungwon''s face like so, to make sure the taller are able to see, to follow. Once his breathing stabilised, the younger child embraced him, ensuring him that he's fine, that he'll be alright.      
   
On their way home, Changkyung couldn't help but lectured Hyungwon about to not ever disappear out of his sight. He knows he's not supposed to be angry, but what happened earlier scared the life out of him.  

"I'm not mad at you hyung, but please don't do that shit again."     
   
"Which shit?"     
   
"Hyung, seriously."     
   
"I know, I know. I won't go MIA ever again. Or tried to."     
   
"Hyung."     
   
"Okay, okay."     
   
"Good."   

Later that night, Changkyun's parents asked how the appointment went. Hyungwon said it went alright, leaving out the bit where he nearly collided with his parents, and the mini panic attack he had. Changkyun gave him a look. He replied in the same manner.    

"What? It really did go quite well. There was a minor inconvenient but I managed."   

"Was the doctor being too personal?" Mrs Lim asked in honest worry.    

Hyungwon waved his hand frantically, showing a sign of denial towards the statement.    

"Oh no, nothing like that. Dr Lee was very good to me. She was great."   

"That's good then."   

Changkyun noticed how uncomfortable Hyungwon was, and tried to maneuver the conversation elsewhere before his parents proceed any further. 

"Mum, we're thinking of going back to Seoul. It's been a week, and Hyungwon is getting better now, plus hyung has to get back to work."   

"Already. Felt like only a day, but what to do. When are you going?"   

"Tomorrow, together with hyung."   

"I am? We are?" Jonghyun was surprised by this sudden revelation.  

"Yeah, I just decided that a second ago. Reckon I could use the points you have in your card to get us our tickets."   

"What makes you think I would let you."   

Changkyun faked a gasp.   

"Hyung, you wouldn't left a patient unattended, so why should we be any different?"   

"How is that even relevant?"   

"Hyung, please. I am broke. He's broke too," Changkyun said while pointing at Hyungwon, "in many ways other than financially."   

That got him a slap from Hyungwon. He let out a dramatic groan.   

"Serves you right. Alright, alright I will. Things I do for you."   

"It's only train tickets to Seoul. That's practically nothing compared to what others had done for their siblings."   

He got another slap for that from his brother. His parents could only laugh at the overly dramatic quarrel.    

"Ungrateful child."   

They all gathered at the living room after the meal to watch a movie, then head to bed after it ended. The boys decided to have an early night instead of playing FIFA. They had their back against each other. Changkyun was almost entering his dreamland, when Hyungwon called his name. "Yes hyung," he replied half asleep. "Do you mind if I want to cuddle? I mean, it's alright if you d..." Hyungwon couldn't finish his sentence as he felt Changkyun's hand wrapped around him, and the warmth on his neck from the younger's breathing.  

"You're so bony." 

"Thanks for stating the obvious."  

They stayed like that for awhile until Changkyun decided to ask the question that has been bothering him lately.  

"Did it hurt when you were doing it?" 

"Hmm, no not really. Most of the time I didn't really feel anything that much, everything sort of went numb. Hence the multiple wounds, I suppose. Don't try though. I would kill you if you do." 

"Wow. That's a lot coming from you, the irony of it all." 

"Very much." 

"I read that rubbing ice would give the same, um, function...?" 

"I read that too, might give it a try." 

"You definitely should." 

"Hmm...hyung, you're killing my arm, it's dead." 

"Sorry."  

Hyungwon adjusted himself, so that Changkyun could free his arm from the weight. The latter then use the supposed dead arm to ran his fingers through the elder's voluminous locks. He repeated the motion until he's sure that the other is asleep. Just when he was sure that Hyungwon was fast asleep, he heard a soft "Thank you".  

"You're welcome, hyung." 


	4. Chapter 4

While the sun was yet to shine in Gwangju, it was already glistening through the thick clouds in Seoul's hectic sky. It was Saturday morning and the dorm was quiet as ever, showing no signs of living things, living boys. (Well, there was the mushroom that Kihyun grew, kept in the darkest place in the dorm, but that doesn't count.) Any ordinary human being would still be fast asleep at this hour, alas these boys are not exactly from that category of ordinary people. Thus, the sound of their shoes squeaking and the sound of their synchronised heavy breathing filled up the lonely studio. They have been practicing nonstop from 6 in the morning, and now it was already quarter past 8. All five bodies dropped dead on the wooden floor with beads of sweats came pouring down like a heavy rain, flooding the room.  

Normally the room would be accompanied with Changkyun's little whining, and his scream of frustration, so it's no surprise that his absence made it feel like they were in a ghost town. Hyungwon's occasional inputs and critics was also very much missed. He would nagged at Jooheon a lot for getting the moves wrong, or shoved Kihyun in the corner if the shorter male was too close for comfort. Hoseok missed it when Hyungwon would scold them, keeping them disciplined, asking them to stop the useless empty chatter in between the breaks, and resumed back to practice as soon as possible so that they can finish early and go home early. The only noise present right now was just their heavy panting, desperately trying to fill up their lungs with the much needed oxygen to keep their half dead bodies alive. 

Minhyuk got up to open the rest of the windows, leaving none shut so that the refreshingly cold winter breeze could cool them down, and also to make sure there's proper ventilation to prevent the room from getting mouldy. Jooheon rose from his position to joined the sunshine boy. Then one by one, they each occupied the windows, putting their heads out in the wind, opening a little bit of their collars to allow the freezing cold air travelled through their disgustingly sticky sweaty bodies. They stayed like that for a good ten minutes, not really caring the odd stares they received from the passerby. 

"Hyungwon would have smacked my butt by now," Jooheon said out of the blue. 

"Sort of miss his sassy arse, actually." Minhyuk added, then looked at Kihyun who was standing on his left side. "Sorry Kihyun." The said man smiled at his friend, "It's alright." He left the window and walked to the water dispenser, that was placed near the door, to quenched his thirst. "I kind of miss him too," he confessed quietly, not wanting the others to hear it. "You should talk to him once he get back here," Hyunwoo whispered to the smaller male as he was standing behind him. Kihyun turned around, startled and almost spilling the water. "Shit man, don't do stuff like that." He punched Hyunwoo on the arm, but it felt like he's the one that's being hit. _Damn, he's stupid muscle._ The eldest laughed at Kihyun's misfortune, ruffled the latter's hair and walked out the room to go to the washroom. _Why do I have to be so fucking tiny._  

Meanwhile, down south at the duo's hometown, the day had a slow start, accompanied with the cheerful sound of birds singing, orchestrating beautiful melody in the clear sky. Changkyun was fully awake, already done showering and dressed. He packed his things, which wasn't that much anyway. The sound of him rummaging through his properties didn't even wake Hyungwon from his sweet dream. He purposely tried to create as much noise as possible, hoping the sleeping beauty would wake up. _Unbelievable_ , he shook his head. With still hours to spend before the journey back to Seoul, he decided to leave Hyungwon as he was, and head to his brother's room to get Hyungwon's medical supply.  

Not long after, Hyungwon woke up by the sound of Changkyun's iPod ringing via Skype call. He adjusted himself to look presentable before taking the call, even though it's only from their manager.  

"Oh, morning Hyungwon. Did I wake you?" 

He was about to say no when he unconsciously let out a massive yawn, covering it with his hands, of course.  

"Sorry hyung. I just woke up." 

Still in a state of being half asleep, Hyungwon did not realise that he had use his left hand to cover his yawn, forgetting about the bandage. And he sort of half expected Changkyun to already informed the others about it, hence he didn’t pay much attention. He didn't realise that the manager was eyeing his wrist with suspicion.  

"It's okay. I just wanted to know what time you'll be here so that I can arrange the transportation."  

Hyungwon was about to answer when the owner of the device came in to the room, and took it out of his hand as he sat next to him.  

"Finally awake, dear prince." The elder just nodded, too sleepy to think of a witty reply. Instead he repeated what the manager had asked him earlier. 

"We'll arrive around 7 p.m. and don't worry about the transport, we'll just grab a taxi." 

"If you say so," he paused for a second, wondering whether he should ask about the bandage.  

"Anything else, hyung?" 

"What's that bandage on your wrist, Hyungwon?"  

And then it dawned to the taller male that Changkyun had not mentioned about his injury, at all. He probably didn't even tell about the sessions he had with Dr Lee and the medicine he was prescribed to. He looked over at the youngest, who had adverted his eyes elsewhere.   

"Oh, I got scratched by the neighbour's cat. Nothing serious." This time it was Changkyun who had his eyes on him. The whole sentences were made up of absolute lies. Changkyun's neighbour does not have a cat, in fact they have no pets whatsoever, and that the injury is actually a serious matter. Hyungwon ignored the intense stare that was poking through his soul, and put up an act. He even smiled about it.  

"Okay then. Call me when you've arrived." 

"Will do." 

Even after the call ended, Changkyun's still had his eyes glued on Hyungwon.   

"What was that?" 

"Acting, I suppose." 

"With the smiles and all." 

"Had to make it look convincing." 

"Well, that is true." 

"I thought you would have told them about it, though."  

Changkyun just shrugged. 

"Hmm....well, I just thought it would be better for you to tell them yourself. It is about you after all. I'm not quite sure if you want it to be a secret or something, so I didn't really say anything." 

"Thank you. Appreciate it very much, actually. I don't quite know myself if I want them to know. I mean, how are they going to react when they realise I'm not quite right in the mind. Would the company drop me? Would that be the end then?" 

Changkyung grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. 

"Dude, stop it. You're always dragging yourself down in the swirl of misery. Stop overthinking things that would most likely will not happen. Besides, they don't have to know if you don't want them to know, and there isn't anything on the contract that would allow such process. If you ever feel lonely or when things just get too much, just come to me. If you got sick of me, there's my mum, my dad, my brother, Dr Lee. We all got your back."   
   
"So weird how my own parents are unaware of this."   
   
"Chae Hyungwon, fucking stop it."   
   
"I know, I'm sorry."   
   
Hyungwon extended his lengthy arm, all ready to cuddle the little man.  

"Come here," he grabbed Changkyun by the neck and swallowed him in a hug. He even left a little peck on the younger's cheek too. "I love you Changkyun." 

For a man who are very stingy with words as well as other form of affections, there are times when Hyungwon would feel very generous. At such circumstances, one would expect this much from this very reserved man. He's just so blessed and grateful for all the help and support that Changkyun had given him, and this sudden gush of affection was his way to show his gratitude towards his friend's immense kindness.  

"Oh my god, what the fuck was that." Changkyun wiped his cheek aggressively with his sleeves. "Disgusting. Go shower bro." 

"Yes sir." 

Despite the elder's peculiar behaviour, Changkyun was glad that Hyungwon seems to be getting better. After completing his daily routine, Hyungwon suggested that they should spent the rest of the hours left watching anime. They argued over which anime they should watch, and somehow ended up agreeing on watching **Kaichou wa Maid-sama.**   

Back at the studio in Seoul, instead of bickering over anime, the boys were in a heated discussion regarding what food they should prepare for the duo's arrival. The moment their manager told them about the two coming back, food was all what Kihyun could think of. He wanted to make sure that they would feel as welcomed as possible, that they would feel at home. And cooking their favourite meal would be best way to do it, he thought. They were already walking back to their dorm, with the permission given to end their practice a little early so that they would have enough time to prepare the meal. 

"Jooheon."   
   
"Yeah, Kihyun hyung."   
   
"What time did they say they'll be back? Dinner?"   
   
"They said they'll arrived at the dorm around 7, so definitely in need of some delicious meal." 

Hyunwoo looked at his watch. 

"We have roughly 2 hours before they get here."   
   
"Okay, I'll need to check in the fridge, if we have enough ingredients to cook some shrimp, stirred fried veggies and maybe chicken soup." 

Once they got home, Kihyun rushed over to the kitchen, find all the things he needed. He had went to do some grocery shopping the day before, so the fridge was pretty much stocked up with loads of supply. He took the chicken out to let it defrost while he cleaned the shrimps and rinsed the vegetables. He quickly changed in to something more comfortable and get back to work, with the apron on. The rest gathered around to give a hand. Minhyuk and Jooheon helped Kihyun to chop the vegetables in to small bits, Hyunwoo washed the chicken, Hoseok cooked the rice. Everyone carried out their own role in perfect harmony.  

After an hour or so, they finished making the meal and took turns to wash off the dirty sweats. While waiting for Hyungwon and Changkyun's arrival, they decided to watch some news. Same old headlines were discussed. Already bored out of his mind, Hoseok got up and went to the kitchen to get some juice. The one he had was the last of it. "Kihyun, we're out of juice," he informed over the counter. Almost automatically, the man mentioned rose from the sofa, head to his room to get his wallet and slipped on his shoes. He told the manager that he's going out to get some juice and was given the company's credit card to spend on. Hoseok tagged along with him, like an excited little 5 years old following his mother to get some treats at the store. 

"Are you alright?" Hoseok asked Kihyun, genuinely concerned about the other's well being. 

"Yeah, I am. Why?" Kihyun answered monotonously, being indifferent about the whole situation.  

"Just want to let you know that I'm here if you need to talk." 

"Did you purposely finished the juice so that you can have this so called one-on-one conversation with me?" 

"Maybe."  

Kihyun smiled at Hoseok's antics. He's just so easy to read, and the fact that his intention is always so pure made him a pretty much transparent man.

"Hyung really, I am fine. I do plan to sort things out, but I do need time."  

"If you say so." 

They've reached the store in seconds. Hoseok held the door for Kihyun, gesturing for the shorter man to go first. 

"Mum first," he said with a cheeky smile. 

"Fuck off." 

"Such language, mother!" 

 Kihyun playfully slapped his arm, and ordered him to get the basket so that he could carry the juice cartons with ease. 

Once the clock hit exactly on 7 p.m., the sound of the car engine could be heard from the aparttment. Before getting off the taxi, Changkyun's brother reminded Hyungwon to take his medicine accordingly and that Hyungwon is more than welcome to visit or call him if he's ever in need. Jonghyun got out of the car to give them a hug before they part.   

"Thank you so much hyung."   
   
"It's the least I could do for you Hyungwon. Take care of yourself kids!" 

The bright orange taxi drove to the junction and disappeared in to little dot as it got further away from their sight. Looking up at their home, they could see Jooheon and Minhyuk at the window, waving at them like a mad man. They braced themselves for a deathly hug.    
   
"Here goes nothing, Changkyun."  

"You too, hyung." 

They looked at each other, then nod simultaneously.    
   
Not even a second after they arrived at the footsteps of their apartment, bunch of full grown men hogged their personal space, leaving very little air to breathe. Hyungwon was wincing partly because of the pain from his wrist and also because his ribcage was probably dented.    
   
"Guys...please...I need....air."   
   
"Oh, alright yeah."   
   
Everyone helped them get in and brought in their bags, which wasn't much anyway. Kihyun and Hoseok were nowhere in sight, Hyungwon noticed. As if he could read his mind, Hyunwoo told him that Kihyun had went to get some juice, and that Hoseok decided to follow him. Hyungwon rolled his eyes. Such a Kihyun thing to do. Hyungwon left the boys in the living room, disappearing in to his room. He unpacked his bag and kept his medicine safely in the chest of drawers, hidden neatly underneath his belongings so it won't seen by anyone. He heard a soft knock.    
   
"Come in, it's not locked."   
   
Totally unaware of who's at the door and he was definitely not ready to face Kihyun just yet. His heart skipped a beat. It was a relief that it was only Hoseok. He smiled a little.   
   
"You alright?"   
   
"Not bad but I could be better."  

Hyungwon unconsciously fidgeted with his sleeves, pulling it down, making sure it's not noticeable. Hoseok seemed oblivious to this act.   
   
"Well, at least you're here and that's good enough for me."   
   
Hoseok pulled him in to a bear hug.    
   
"Hyung, you're so warm."   
   
"Well, I am the hottest man alive."   
   
"Has lying become your innate ability since birth."   
   
"Stop being in denial my friend. Come on, dinner is ready."   
   
"Okay, I'll be in a minute." He made sure Hoseok was out of sight before slipping his medicine in to his pockets so that he could have it later, in the bathroom. The place where his many secrets were kept buried within the four walls. 

When he got to the dining area, he noticed Kihyun had prepared some of his favourite dishes along with Changkyun's, and there was very little spicy side dishes too. He smiled on the inside at how tentative Kihyun was towards their eating habits and how he knew both boys can't eat spicy food. He also did not fail to notice how the others quickly arranged their seating, deliberately in such way, where he and Kihyun were somehow seated next to each other at the end of the table. _What a carefully well thought plan. Way to be secretive guys._ It was quiet at first as everyone was too busy indulging, almost inhaling the food. Hyungwon was the one who broke the ice.    
   
"Thanks Kihyun."   
   
Everyone was surprised by the sudden compliment. Not wanting to make it seem anymore awkward than it already was, the others chimed in as well.  

"Thank you, mum!"  

Kihyun thought of replying with his sass but withheld his venomous tongue. He sort of grew fond of their jokes, and became well accustomed to the newly found nickname. The conversation then turned in to a heated debate about football, then to video games, followed by recommendations of songs, films, books and so on. They continued talking endlessly until what's left on their plates were only bones. They all helped to clean up and do the dishes.  

Later, they all huddled together to watched some telly. Hyunwoo lazily browsed through the channels, hoping to find some decent show to kill off the time. "Hyung, go back to tvN," Minhyuk frantically hitting the eldest on the shoulder. Had Hyunwoo have the body of Hyungwon, he would have some bones cracked. That was how hard he was being hit. But of course, being the muscular man that he was, he hardly felt any pain. They settled in to watch a drama based on an incomplete webtoon.  

"To be honest, I don't understand why people kept saying the main guy is a psychopath. I mean, yeah he is manipulative but all the things he had done was for a course." Minhyuk was on fire, ranting about his thoughts on the characters. 

"He did threaten the gay couple to get out of his sight," Jooheon added. 

"True, but you can't really blame him for seeing the world in pure black and white and nothing in between," said Kihyun backing up Minhyuk. 

As everyone was deeply engrossed in the drama, Changkyun nudged Hyungwon by his side, reminding the other to take his medicine. The lanky man left the couch, striding his way to the bathroom. He didn't realise that Kihyun had been watching him all this while. Rather than feeling suspicious, he was more worried about the man. Kihyun noticed how pale the other was and how he kept fussing over his sleeves. Unaware of being observed, he silently disappeared in to the washroom and took out the tiny tablets from his pocket. He pretended as if he actually went to the loo, and flushed the toilet away. He then took some water from the cold tap, and swallowed the pills with the cold water. The sound of the water flowing was supposed to mimic the act of him washing his hands after he had done his business. Hyungwon got out of the bathroom and re-joined the others as if nothing happened. As the night was fast approaching, the boys head to their rooms once the drama ended. All tucked in comfortably in their thick duvet.  
   
Hours later, everyone was fast asleep, except for one man in particular. He just could not fall to sleep no matter how hard he tried. He turned and twist in his duvet, hoping to find some peace. But it seems like luck just wasn't on his side. He carefully freed himself from the blanket, making as little sound as possible, careful to not wake the others. He slipped his way out of the room and head to the kitchen. He wanted to make some tea, but then in order to have a nice warm cup of tea, he would have to boil the kettle and that would create quite a noise. At the corner of the counter, there was a luminous red flask.  _Please let there be some hot water._ As he grabbed the flask, it was not light and empty as he feared. To his relief it was full of still moderately warm liquid. He took out a mug from the cupboard, put the teabag in it, pour the water in and let it brew for a bit. He then took out the bag, let it dry on the saucer so that he could put it in his shoes to absorb the smell once it's absolutely dried up.  

All this while, when he was making his drink, he did not know another soul had awaken. Kihyun was woken up by the sound of the spoon clinking. He wasn't aware that it was one of his members that was making all the noise. Fearing the unknown, he climbed off his bed, fully armed with a pepper spray and a wooden clothes hanger. He bravely and cautiously took his steps towards the kitchen. None of the lights were switched on except for the one in the kitchen, and all he could see was a tall man with broad shoulders hovering over the sink. He was ready to attack when all of the sudden, the man called him out, with his back facing the terrified tiny man.

"I can hear you, you know."

 _What the fuck, I was supposed to say that._ Confused by this whole situation, Kihyun did the stupidest thing he had ever done in years, and quite possibly in his entire life. He neglected the clothes hanger all together and decided to instead jumped on to the man, clung himself around the guy, and aimlessly spraying the pepper spray, hoping it would somehow hit the target. The mysterious man grabbed Kihyun's arm, struggling to free himself from the other's grip. His body flailing like those inflatable moving balloons, hopelessly trying to balance the weight on him, only to staggered his way towards the fridge. Kihyun's body slammed on to the cold metallic surface, causing him to loosened his grip. The man took this opportunity to untangled himself from the attacker. He turned around to see who it was. 

"Holy shit! It was you!" They both said at each other. All the anger and fear washed away as they soon learnt who it was and had a grasp of what was happening. They both started laughing hysterically.

"Shh, the others are still asleep," Hyungwon reminded the shorter male. He lend his hand to help Kihyun got up from the cold floor. He checked for any bruises on the smaller man's body. 

"Hyungwon, stop fussing, I'm fine. It's you that I'm worried about." He cupped Hyungwon's small face, checking for his eyes. "Sorry for trying to make you temporarily blind." He blew in to Hyungwon's eyes, who had his eye shut, hoping it would ease the pain, if there was any. Hyungwon took Kihyun's hands off his face and held it in his hands, ensuring the other that he was just as fine. 

"You were spraying at everything and everywhere except for my eyes, in which I'm thankful for." He let go of the other's hand and walked to the sink to wash his face, just in case there was some bits that got on his skin. He wiped his face with his shirt. He brought his tea along with him as he joined Kihyun on the couch. 

"I can't believe you did that. Like what on earth were you doing. You were like this," he exaggeratedly reenacted the part when Kihyun was spraying all over him.

All too embarrassed, the tiny man could only begged his friend to shut up. 

"Okay, okay stop. It's not funny anymore." However, they both were still laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing was. "Oh my god, there are tears in my eyes," exclaimed the man who previously said it wasn't funny anymore. They continued laughing and whizzing for awhile. After what felt like decades, they managed to calmed down and sat up properly. 

"I'll go make you some tea." Seconds later, Hyungwon returned with a cup of tea for Kihyun. 

"Thank you."

"It's alright." 

They drank the tea in silence, trying to sort their minds out about everything. Kihyun turned his body and folded his legs, so that he could face Hyungwon properly. The latter did the same.

"I'm sorry Hyungwon." 

"I'm at fault too, so I too am sorry. Did you...um...miss me...?"

"No," he lied as he sipped his tea, trying to cover his smile behind the mug. Hyungwon scoffed at this apparent bluff.

"Did you mean what you said?" He didn't have to explain what it was as both knew what the matter in question was.

"Fuck no, Hyungwon. I would have to lose my sanity to actually mean the thing that I said."

"Okay, but did you like my absence?" 

"A lot," Kihyun smirked as he continued, "for once I don't have to wake you up."

"Thanks bro, really appreciated your effort."

"Well, none of the kids are as capable as me."

"Wow, and you said I was the cocky bitch." 

They smiled at each other, pretty content and impressed at how well they're getting along. Just weeks ago, they were fighting nonstop, always at each other's throat. To see them talking, smiling, drinking tea together, and actually seating next to each other at their own free will was just magical, to say the least. 

"Hyungwon, I really mean it when I said I was sorry, still am. I should have never said those things, ever."

"I am sorry too. Truth to be told, I don't actually hate you. It's just that you were, still are so much better than I could ever be. It got me anxious and my insecurities got the better of me, hence the hostile attitude."

"Well, I should have talked to you first instead of making assumptions about you."

"Call it even then." Hyungwon sipped his last drop of tea and put the mug on the coffee table.

"If that's what you like."

Right then, Kihyun also put his mug down. He then inched closer towards Hyungwon, and hugged the man ever so tightly.

"Don't you ever fucking disappear like that ever again. I was worried sick." 

Hyungwon could feel his clothes getting soaked by the smaller man's tears. He placed his arm around Kihyun's tiny build. 

"If anything, I really enjoyed my stay in Gwangju. All thanks to you, I suppose." The model-like idol said jokingly, trying his very best not to let his tears fall. 

"Dude you're ruining this precious moment!"

Kihyun got off his chest, lightly punched him in the arm. He pretended to be hurt.

"I'm not! I'm trying to brightened up the mood."

"Well, you're supposed to be pouring your eyes out like me!"

"Sorry, tear glands are empty as of right now." 

That got him another punch. A rather strong one too.

"Ouch. Dude, that really hurts. If you're going to continue abusing me, then I have to use my deathly wrap to prevent you from hurting such innocent soul." 

With that, he enveloped the tiny man with all his might. While they were busy goofing around, Hyungwon sleeved got pulled up and his bandage was shown. He panicked and quickly withdrew himself and pulled down his sleeves. Kihyun saw his arm. The room fell silent. 

"Hyungwon..."

"It's nothing, really."

"Hyungwon..."

"I...uh...it's just a scratch."

Kihyun, not buying the obvious terrible lie, slowly approached Hyungwon, who eventually gave in. _Well, it's now or never._ Kihyun cautiously placed his hand over the other's injured wrist, then wrapped his relatively small hands in Hyungwon's. He tightened his grip, to ensure the younger that his secret is safe with him. 

"It's smaller than I thought it would be." 

Even though he couldn't see his face, Kihyun could just tell that he had the biggest smirk on his face.

"Shut the fuck up. It's not everyday that I'm being nice to you." 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they learnt how to become a loving and caring family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am finally finished with this one! It took quite a while to write the ending, but hopefully it was good enough. I was thinking of doing an an epilogue of some sort, but I'll see if I have time to finish it off.

It's 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and someone decided it was a great idea to set an alarm at such an ungodly hour. It wasn't that loud, but the faint yet rather constant ringing was enough to disturbed Minhyuk's precious sleep. He was fussing about with his pillow and duvet, in hopes that pulling it over his head would silence the noise. His effort however was all worthless as the alarm kept echoing in to his ear and his head. Kicking the duvet off, he climbed down his bed, grunting and mumbling words of complaints while finding the source of his irritation. He checked for all the beds thoroughly, not even bothered to be gentle about his search and ignoring the others' whining, because whoever the person was, they clearly deserve this much of a treatment.

The culprit was none other than Kihyun. Being known for his role as the dedicated mother of the group, Kihyun would always be the first one to get up and that would also mean he was the one that's in charge of waking up the other sleepy souls. The said person however, was nowhere to be found in his bed. Perhaps he's already awake before it went off, Minhyuk reassured himself. Besides, it's not the first time this had occurred. Kihyun just happened to be an extremely enthusiastic early person. After turning off the alarm, the tired man head to the kitchen to get some water and thinking that he would probably find Kihyun there. The man he was looking for was not in sight. Again, he just shrugged, not really surprised by his friend's disappearance. Kihyun tend to busy himself with many things once he got up, like running errands, going for a jog or just went to have a breakfast all alone.

Walking his way to the loo, Minhyuk did not realise that what he was searching for was right in front of his eyes. Once after he was done with his business, and got out, only did he see a familiar blanket hanging off the sofa. Curious to what it may be, he came closer to get a good look. He could see Hyungwon’s head lying on a pillow, but it did not look like he was alone because he saw ruffles of hair resting against the sleeping man’s chest. Minhyuk thought for a second of who it could be, and it never dawned to him that the person he discovered would be it. He genuinely thought it could either be Hoseok or Changkyun since Hyungwon was closer to them, and considering how Changkyun was still fast asleep in his room, he was honestly expecting Hoseok.

"No fucking way." Minhyuk clasped his hand over his mouth, trying to recover from the shock. Never in a million years would he guess such a thing. "Oh my god," Minhyuk said as he was still very perplexed by it. He hurried over to his room to grab his iPod to capture the moment. Not wanting to let it go unnoticed, he woke Jooheon and Changkyun too, to witness the historic event.

"Hyung, this better be good," Changkyun whined in his half awake state after being dragged by Minhyuk despite his initial protest. "Holy shit!" exclaimed Jooheon. Changkyun finally opened his eyes to see what the fuss was all about. His eyes widened as big as a marble, absolutely in disbelieve with was laid upon his sight. Not wasting any more time, Minhyuk pulled down the blanket to take a good photo of the two cuddling with their fingers intertwined.

"This is the cutest shit ever!"

"Hyung, lower down your voice," Changkyun carefully whispered, reminding the elder not to wake them up.

Fortunately, the two were too deep in their sleep that even Minhyuk's not so subtle comments did not seem to bother them. Staying up till 3 in the morning after the meaningful conversation really did take a toll on them, even on Kihyun, who's known for being a very light sleeper. The noise however did wake the two eldest as they came out from their room and entered the living room to check on what kind of mayhem the younger ones were up to.

"Why are you guys up so early? It's bloody Sunday for goodness sake." Even though he seemed a pretty relax leader, Hyunwoo does use his authoritative power at certain times, and waking him up from their most cherished day off would be one of them.  

"Hyung, look at this masterpiece," Jooheon said as he shoved the iPod in Hoseok's hand. The other rubbed his eyes, to focus his view while Hyunwoo fixed his glasses so that he could see the image clearer. Both were left speechless. Their mouths were left ajar, too shocked from what they've seen.

"Yeah, I know right!" Minhyuk exclaimed.

The others hushed the ever so excited ray of sunshine. Minhyuk shut his mouth tightly and mimicked the action of zipping his lips. While they were busy adoring the lovely discovery, their manager came in to the living. They all hushed at him. Despite being confused, the manager just followed and walked over to the couch.

"Why are you all gathered here?"

All at once, their hands simultaneously pointed to the two cuddling on the couch like a lovely lovebirds. The manager raised his eyebrows, trying to understand the situation, and then made his mouth into an O shape once he caught on. Soon after he was over it, he told them that the company's CEO wanted to have a talk with Kihyun, Hyungwon and Changkyun. He didn't say what the matter was because it was obviously clear what the "talk" was going to be about. The others looked at Changkyun with a worried face.

"What?"

Hoseok placed a hand on the younger's shoulder, "We've got your back".

"Hyung, I'm fine. It's them you should be concern about right."

"He's right," Jooheon added, "what do we do with them?"

"Wake Hyungwon first 'cause he's the one that's cuddling" said Hoseok.

And that's exactly what they did. Even though everyone knows waking the lanky log wouldn't be the brightest idea and almost like asking a death wish, someone just had to do it. Hence they had Hoseok to do the deed considering that he's pretty close with the guy. Hoseok however wasn’t too thrilled being the appointed person to carry out this deadly mission. With nothing much that he can do about it, he sighed loudly, making sure the others know how much he hated this and that they should be grateful to have him by their side during this rather crucial moment. He took a deep breath before he started his task.

“Hyungwon, wake up, dude,” he said repeatedly while occasionally giving the other a soft nudge. As expected, the younger male did not move an inch. He was far too deep in his sleep that not even an earthquake could make him rose from the couch. “Maybe you could yell in his ear,” suggested Changkyun. That got him a slap from Hoseok. One does not simply suggest an outrageous and impossible solution.

“Why don’t you do it then,” Hoseok said, challenging the youngest’ bravery.

“Hyung, I would do anything you’d ask me to do, but please not this. I, Im Changkyun, am too young to be digging my own grave.”

The elder scoffed at the other and rolled his eyes at the unsurprising reply. “I thought so. Next time try to come up with something useful.”

Still out of ideas of how to wake Hyungwon up effectively, Hoseok tried again, using the same method as before, but this time with a little rougher nudge. And just like before, not a muscle moved. At this point, even if Hoseok shook him with so much force that his brain was rattling, Hyungwon would most probably still be asleep. After a couple of tries more, he got bored and annoyed at how persistent Hyungwon can be. He gave up and resulted to the others to assist him.

Seeing how useless Hoseok was, Changkyun came to his rescue. He knew from the start that the most effective and easiest way to get Hyungwon up on his feet was to just tickle his feet, but he thought witnessing his members stood still in fear and being helpless was quite entertaining. He positioned himself near the taller male’s feet and extended his hands, ready to start. He looked at everyone and said “Watch and learn, my young ones,” before proceeding to tickle Hyungwon’s feet. Not even a minute after, the model-like idol’s legs started to twitch. Soon, a little groan of annoyance was heard. Changkyun continued to disturbed him until he let loose of his grip on Kihyun’s waist and sat up right.

“Is it still morning? If so, then please leave me alone. Let me have my beauty sleep.” He kept whining like a little child while fixing the bird’s nest on his head.

“Hyung, your supposedly cute whining won’t get you anywhere,” Jooheon explained as a matter of fact.

Hyungwon was about to ignore them and proceed to resume his sweet dreams. However, Hyunwoo, being the responsible leader that he was, quickly flexed his arms to catch the lanky man’s body before it landed back. The said man groaned and fussed about, refusing to cooperate. Hyunwoo did not entertain him and pulled him back up with strength that was beyond the frail man’s match, making it impossible for Hyungwon to protest. Eventually he got up and headed to the bathroom to have his shower while mumbling some words of complaints under his breath.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear that Chae Hyungwon,” Hoseok warned him, “If you do that one more time, I won’t hesitate to break your fragile bones.”

The sleepy man just nodded his head and raised his index and middle finger, resembling a peace sign. It was so that he could disguise the actual meaning of his action, but then again, who doesn’t recognise or understand the universal sign of “Fuck off”. Hoseok just shook his head with a little smile escaped his lips. He’s just glad that Hyungwon was slowly being himself again.

Their trouble did not end there however. They still have Kihyun to sort out. It was rather amazing how he managed to remained unmoved, even when Hyungwon was letting him go from his grip. From the look of it, he was still far far away in his dreamland, all curled up in the exact same fetal position when they first found him. While everyone was figuring out what to do (or what not to do) with him, it was Minhyuk who took the initiative to woke him up. They knew he’s going to harass them with a long dreadful lecture on why they should have woken him up earlier instead of letting him slept in, but he was asked to meet the boss, so someone had to spare their soul for the better.

“Kihyun-ah, wake up,” Minhyuk whispered with such care while stroking the other’s hair, making sure Kihyun won’t get shock. It took him a couple of tries, but it was enough to wake the mother of the group. He raised his head in a 45 degree angle, trying to figure out what was going on: where he’s at, who had woke him up, how and why he’s not in his room. Minutes after he sorts his thoughts out, he leaned his body on the back of the couch, analysing the room. The first thing he did was look for a watch and failing to find one, he asked the others what the time was. He was informed that it was half past 8, in which got him jumped out of his seat and frantically trying to tidy up the couch.

“Why didn’t wake me up earlier? It’s almost 9 meaning it’s almost noon, and you guys dared to let me waste my days off. Honestly, I can’t believe you lot.” He kept complaining nonstop, and the others just laughed it off, already expecting such reaction from him. Changkyun let out a big laugh, totally amused by the situation, even though it’s nothing new; in fact it was something that he was absolutely familiar with. Despite having seen this before, it was still hilarious to him.

“What’s so funny, Lim Changkyun? There’s nothing funny about this. I can’t believe I’m becoming the person I hate the most.” He kept going on while folding the duvet rather aggressively.

“The person you hate the most? Who could that be?” They all asked with honest curiosity. It was within their knowledge that Kihyun does have certain individuals that he’s not fond of, but to say that he hates someone would be something they’ve unheard of, unknown of.

“It’s that fucking brat, Chae Hyungwon. Who else. He would always sleep like there’s no tomorrow.” He nagged his way while carrying his duvet and pillow back to his room, then walked back to join the others in the living room, placing himself in between the two rappers. “Thank god today is Sunday, so we’re absolutely free to do whatever we want. Thank god I don’t have to wake him up.” Kihyun naturally just assumed that Hyungwon was still sleeping like he normally would, because he was nowhere in sight. The two young ones exchanged a look before Changkyun let out a bigger laugh with Jooheon joining him.  Kihyun stared at them as if they’ve gone mad. “What the hell is wrong with you two?” Neither said anything because they’re too busy laughing their heads off while grasping for air.

Hoseok appeared from the kitchen with a cup of coffee, in which he handed it to Kihyun. He sat on the floor facing the other so that he could explain things.

“Okay first, we let you slept in because it was convenient to do so since it was Hyungwon who cuddled you, meaning you were the one being cuddled.”

Kihyun choked on his coffee.

“You were the small spoon,” added the two rascals, which got them a couple of slaps on the arms, each from Hyunwoo and Kihyun.

“More or less, something like that, yes,” Hoseok continued, “Second, it’s only half past, meaning there’s another 30 minutes to 9, meaning there’s roughly another 3 hours to noon, so you’re still fairly early.”

“Yeah, but...” The shorter male was cut off as Hoseok placed his finger on Kihyun’s  lips so that he can continue his explanation.

“Third, you don’t have to worry about the person you hate most, because he’s currently in the shower,” and just as his name was about to be mentioned, Hyungwon came out from the bathroom with water dripping from his hair and towel wrapped around his thin waist. Kihyun had his eyes glued on the beautiful creature as Hyungwon was walking his way to his room. The smaller male was unable to comprehend the miracle that has happened. Feeling like he was being watched, Hyungwon stopped at his door and spun around.

“What are you staring at, Yoo Kihyun?”

That brought him back to reality.

“No, nothing. It was just so hard to believe that you’re actually up at this hour, already showered and just wow.”

“Well yeah, thanks to someone, I suppose,” he diverted his gaze to Changkyun, who instead mouthed “You’re welcome”, feeling proud of his achievement. “Oh and, you should really be concerned about yourself, because we’re being called by the boss and he wants to meet us at 10.” With that, he disappeared in to the room, locking the door behind him.

“What the fuck. You guys didn’t tell me about this. And what the hell, it’s almost 9 and he wants to meet us at 10. Ugh.”

“Yeah, that’s item number 4 on my list...”

“That should have been at the very top, Hoseok. And why do you even need to arrange accordingly when none of the things you told me were that helpful or informational.”

“Knowing that you’re a small spoon is a very worthy piece of information for us,” Changkyun smirked at his statement.

“Oh, fuck off.”

 

* * *

 

 

The clock showed that it was a minute before 10. In front of the CEO’s office stood three nerve wrecked men, absolutely terrified of whatever that was about to happen to them later on. Even though they have been preparing for this day, thinking that they could had it all and would be able to manage it, standing right there and then was a different story. All three seemed pretty calm and collected, but on the inside, every bit of emotions was swirling in their stomachs, making them sick in the guts. A second before the hand hit 10, the three of them clasped and intertwined their freezing cold hands with each others’ and knocked on the massive wooden door. A deep clear voice answered and instructed them to come in. One by one, they entered the room, staying as close as possible with one another.

The boys tensed up when the boss stopped doing whatever he was doing and raised his head, so that he has full attention on them. There wasn’t a sign of any sort of emotions on his face, making it difficult for the three unfortunate souls to decipher his expression. The boss sighed in a way that would mean that he was not pleased with them, at all. Before they could even brace themselves for the next reaction, their boss opened his mouth.

“Right, so where do I begin with you guys,” he took his glasses off and paused for awhile, which felt like ages to the trio, before he continued his talk. “Okay, before I scare you guys even more, I think it’s only right for me to inform the three of you that I have nothing to say.” That left them in total blank, confused by the unexpected outcome. They looked at each other, as if any of them have the rightful answers to their endless questions. The only reply they got was multiple shoulders shrug, as everyone was completely lost about it all. The CEO snickered at their rather adorable antics. The sound of the boss’ little laughs brought their attention back to the man sitting behind the huge glass table.

“Truth to be told, I can’t do much to you guys because it would create a big mess if I did. I mean, the plans for the music video have been wrapped up, and they’re currently preparing for the shooting. The production crew wouldn’t like it if there are changes to it because they’ve been planning it for quite a while back and having told that their plans needed some alteration would be devastating.

“Also, if I were to lay you off, it would definitely leave the fans in rage. I then have to explain the cause of it, and that wouldn’t be as easy, on my part at least. I mean, how insane would it be to hear that an idol has been kicked out just because he was struggling emotionally and psychologically, that he had an illness. Plus, there wasn’t anything that you guys have done that breached the terms of the contract per se, and there’s nothing in the contract that would allow me to legally terminate you guys, if I were to opt for that, that is.”

They were silent for a moment before Hyungwon asked the CEO how he knew about his sufferings. To which he replied “The world is not that big anymore, Hyungwon,” which did not answer his question one bit. With that, they were dismissed from the room. Still out of it, the trio lingered in front of the door before walking to the practice room where the rest were, along with their manager, who were all anxiously waiting for them.

On their way there, Changkyun thought of how the boss knew, because he himself just found out a week ago, but what concerned him more was how Hyungwon didn’t even panic about the news being discovered by Kihyun. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t realise he was trailing quite far off from Kihyun and Hyungwon, who were just as quiet. With so much running through his mind, he opened up his lips to clear his doubts.

“Alright so,” all eyes on him, “How come you didn’t seem worried that Kihyun hyung now finally knows about it, hyung?”

The two slowed down their pace, allowing Changkyun to catch up with them. The moment when he’s an inch away from them, they playfully grabbed him, one on his waist and the other on his shoulder. They walked together, attached hips to hips, with Kihyun’s arm on the youngest’ waist and Hyungwon’s long arm dangling off his small shoulder.

“Well, he found out about it before I could even explain it myself. Just like a mother, I suppose.”

“If that’s suppose to offend me, then I have sad news for you because it doesn’t, not anymore.”

“It was supposed to be a compliment, actually.”

As they stepped their foot into the practice room, all 4 men hugged them to death. Not until a few minutes later were they released from the grip. Everyone was asking how the meeting went, whether they’re alright or not, what will happen to them, and if any punishments were given. They were asking numerous questions all at once, leaving the trio very little space to answer each one of their questions properly. After the others had calmed down, Kihyun, Hyungwon and Changkyun took turns to explain what was said and discussed in the office. Hyungwon even told the rest about his condition and how he was on medication, and that they shouldn’t worry about him because he’s been coping quite well as of lately. “We love you no matter what, Hyungwon,” Hoseok reassured the precious soul. They gathered around for another round of deathly hug session before heading out to their favourite restaurant.

While walking to their destination, Hyungwon purposely matched his pace with Kihyun so that he could have a conversation with him. He tried to make it as natural as possible, pretending to just happen to be next to Kihyun, walking together, side by side. He was contemplating on whether he should ask what he wanted to ask, or whether he should kept quiet because some things are better left unsaid. His head was buzzing with these thoughts and little voices were filling up his brain. He did not realise that while he was busy talking to himself in his head, the silence between him and Kihyun grew bigger and bigger. The silence was too much that it came to the point where it became unbearable for the shorter male. He could literally hear Hyungwon’s thoughts bubbling in his confine train of thoughts.

“What is it that you want to ask Hyungwon? Ask away, I don’t bite.”

The said male was shocked and puzzled at how Kihyun knew his purpose, his motive. He tried his best to cover up his expression, pretending to be as indifferent as possible. He had always been fairly great at disguising his true emotions all this while, so to fake something like this was as easy as breathing to him.

“I’ve been wondering, was it you who told the boss regarding the situation that I am in?”

“Why did you think that?”

“There are only two people who knew, which were Changkyun and you. And even though Changkyun seems the kind that would spill beans when necessary, I know he wouldn’t tell anyone without telling me first, so that left only you. And I know that you would always come in prepared for absolutely everything and anything.”

“Didn’t know you’d pay that much attention to me.”

“Well, you tend to stand up for what is right, no matter who the person involved was, so it’s not that hard to miss.”

“I thought I should do my good deed unnoticed, but looks like you have a sharp intuition. You’re welc...”

At that very moment, Hyungwon hugged the petite man to his bones, making it almost impossible for Kihyun to breathe. He was grateful that they were in the back alley of the neighbourhood because had it been somewhere near the busy road, it would have caused some serious collision.

“Alright lovebirds, we are aware that you guys love each other very dearly, but I would appreciate it if you keep your hands to yourself for the time being.” Their leader warned them to behave appropriately and be cautious of the eyes that were preying on them.

“Yes dad,” they both replied simultaneously.

“How can Hyunwoo be your father, and at the same time he is also your spouse, Kihyun hyung?”

“Shut up, Jooheon. You’re too young to understand, my sweet child.”

They carried on walking till they reached the desired place. With all of them ready to lay their money for the delicious food, they ordered a bunch of dishes that looked like it was meant for a king. They ate their lush meals till their hearts content.

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything ends on a good note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been wanting to post this little chapter but thought the ending was already sufficient. But yeah, I'll post it anyway. Hope it's not draggy. Happy reading. :)

“Move your bony arse, beanpole.” 

Hyungwon did so, not caring to continue the relay of friendly raillery. He was too immersed in the game that in his head he was practically in that telly, moving about on the football field. While his eyes were fixed on the massive screen, his hands however were busy arranging flowers. The coffee table was covered with all sorts of flowers, red ones, pink, purple, you name it all and he would most probably have it. He has been doing it ever since he was first introduced to it by Aunt Mae, and since then it became almost like his second nature. Whenever they walked past a florist store, Hyungwon would spend a couple of minutes inside, even if he has no means to buy it. Just the sight of it brought joy to him. Everything about it was just very therapeutic to him and the aroma from the flowers was to die for. The others would joke about him being born in the wrong body and the wrong year, that he should have been an 80 years old grandmother rather than a breathtakingly handsome young man. And every time they bothered him about it, he would always deny, but little did he know, he was in love with arranging flowers. 

 He was too busy multitasking that he doesn't even mind when Kihyun shoved him aside as the shorter male plot himself next to him despite all the other countless vacancy seats. After the incident, Kihyun and Hyungwon's relationship has never been as good as this. They would purposely avoid calling each other with the beautiful names given by their parents and instead chose to replace it with about anything other than their own names. Of course it was all done in good nature. They know their limits so the risk of hurting someone would be very minimal. And Hyunwoo makes sure to keep things in line so that nothing bad would happen. Changkyun too has been very particular about the usage of sharp objects in the house. He would make sure they weren't any sharp items in the vicinity and if there was any, and that Hyungwon wanted to use it, it must be supervised. It sounded ridiculous regardless, but he just doesn't want the same thing happen again. Even though they haven’t known each other as long, and that there were still so many things they have yet to learn about one another, the thought of losing either one of them really terrified them and send shiver to their bones. Of course no one ever mentioned about it but deep down they know that they value each other very dearly.  

“Ugh, you guys act like an old married couple.” Jooheon was complaining about his dissatisfaction of the newly found friendship. He claimed that their disgusting affection towards each other was distracting him and that it was preventing him from winning the game, which he was playing against Minhyuk, and the latter was known for his impressive skills. So to say his reasoning was a valid one would be far from it. Everyone knows Minhyuk was the master of videogames. Him losing had nothing to do with the two, it was in fact due to his poor skills compared to Minhyuk's. 

“Hyung, you're the worst player in this room. What winning are you talking about?” Changkyun smirked off his statement knowing very well that the elder can't possibly deny the undoubted truth. He also did that so that Minhyuk would win as he indirectly cheered for the elder by throwing the opponents under the bus with his savagery. Hyungwon and Hoseok joined in, echoing whatever Changkyun chanted. Jooheon whined more than ever. He threw the console aside, acting as if he was really pissed. “Mum, dad,” he looked at Kihyun and Hyunwoo, respectively, “please do something about them. I can’t play if they keep harassing me. That’s foul.” 

They kept bickering back and forth, playing along with the harmless banter. Every 30 minutes or so, player for both teams swapped around alternatively till the night has turned into another day. A second after the hand hits midnight, their manager barged in to the living room with so much excitement. Realising what was going on, the boys quickly and rather carefully put aside their consoles and saved their games before connecting the nearby laptop to the telly. Their manager went to Starship's YouTube channel and clicked on the music video of their newest title track **_All In_**. By now, all of them have placed themselves neatly at the centre of the area, with Hoseok, Hyunwoo, Minhyuk and their manager on the sofa and Jooheon, Changkyun, Kihyun and Hyungwon on the floor, all focusing on the screen.  

They were only 20 seconds in to the video and words were flying all over. Each and every one of them were voicing out their thoughts and questions about the very ambiguous message inscribed in the beautifully made video. The manager managed to silenced them by suggesting that whoever talked first before it ends, have to do the laundry for the whole month. Such mild threat worked wonders, even on Kihyun.  

As expected, they carried on watching in absolute in silence. Everything was going rather well until Hyungwon opened up his mouth towards the end of the video with only 10 seconds left, completely forgotten about the little deal they had previously.  

"I don't understand shit but I do know that it is a tiny bit gay."  

"Oh my god, yes! Thank you for sacrificing yourself." Hoseok not so subtle joy left another in utter misery.  

"Oh fuck. Shit!" Hyungwon exclaimed after he had registered in his mind of what just happened. He let out a massive groan and buried his face in his hands, feeling so disappointed in himself. "Noooooo!" 

Hoseok placed a hand on the miserable man's shoulder, supposedly trying to comfort him only to rub some more salt on the freshly wounded cut. "I was thinking of the exact same thing, and had you not said it out loud, I would have probably be in your shoes right now, so thank you, my friend." Hyungwon let out a heavy sigh knowing that he can't do much about it.  

The rest laughed at his misfortune as he whined like a giant baby that he was. "We promise we won't trouble you with it" they said while giving a cynical smile. Hyungwon rolled his eyes, not believing a single word that was said. "Alright fine, but can I at least get an assistant?" Everyone looked at him in disbelieve, because honestly, doing laundry cannot be that much of a task. "What? I'm fine if it's just a couple of washing but 8 pairs of clothing times 30 days isn't a very little number." They considered for some options but Kihyun (almost) instantly volunteered to help the man seated next to him, in which he received a desperate and grateful hug from the other, only to be let go after what felt like an eternity.  

"People are really going to think you guys are married," Jooheon commented bitterly. 

"Hyungwon is cheating on me," Minyuk claimed. Hyungwon however, carefully explained how in the music video it was all acting and that he did not have that much choice and neither did he have the right to object the instructions that were given to him. He also mentioned that Minhyuk shouldn't take it to the heart knowing very well it was all work and business anyway. Minhyuk could only scoffed at this. 

After he was done lecturing Minhyuk, Hyungwon turned his body towards his saviour and leaned in closer to express his gratitude, once again, by hugging the life out of the petite man. "You're the best Kihyun." 

"Get the fuck off me." Kihyun was pleading for the lanky man to free him. After much struggle, Kihyun resorted to what he knows best and known for, which was spiteful remarks that may burn to the bones. "It's only a fan service," he said with certainty accompanied with a devilish smirk across his face. Those little words served its purpose as Hyungwon released his grip and faced Kihyun with a hurtful expression. 

"Oh, so our friendship was purely for public display?" 

"Shit is about to go down," Changkyun whispered under his breath. 

"And all this while I thought you're all about commitment, Yoo Kihyun." Hyunwoo chimed in, rather unexpectedly. He would normally stay out of the useless chatter but he just doesn't want to miss this golden opportunity to give his two cents, and play along with the conversation. As he said that, the room was echoed by loud chants of "Ooooooh".  

"We did not establish anything, and just like Hyungwon said, our roles of being the mother and father of the group are all work and business."  

"Kihyun, I am honoured that you've used my wise words, but please, never cite it just so that you could go around and roast everyone and anyone as you please." Hyungwon lifted his index finger and motion a "No, no, no" gesture while clicking his tongue, pretending to be upset and appalled. "Don't be an arsehole," he then whispered in the tiny man's ear. His cheeky comment resulted him rolling and laughing on the floor, while defending himself from Kihyun's wave of rage.  

They were pulled apart by their manager, who was already all too familiar with this scene. The sight of the duo bickering and hitting on each other has become an everyday thing, even before debut. But the difference between now and then was that everything that had happened and mentioned in recent days was left on a good note, and that they were merely playing just like how any good friends would. Seeing the boys muck about like this washed away the manager's worries. He really hoped all of them would stay close and genuine just like how they are now, and leave those awful years behind and let it be buried for good. 

"Okay kids, I think that's enough for today, go to sleep." He ordered them to quickly go to their respective room and get some rest as they have hectic schedules lay upon them for the next few months.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes, I am still hovering over All In. It's such a good song. Honestly, had the timing been right, they could have won at least ocne. Oh and, as stated in the tags, this was set pre All In, so the newest track at this time in the story is All In. Sorry if it causes any confusion.


End file.
